I Like Pizza! Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!

10-10-12

  I got back last night from two days with my In-laws in Eastern Oregon. It was lots of fun getting to see their new home and helping them unpack and settle in. I also got to spend some time getting to know my mother-in-law, which I really enjoyed and look forward to spending more time with her in the future. 
  The other night I made pizza for dinner. I used a very yummy recipe that I discovered early on in my diet. I've made it many times and the guys like it a lot! 

  This time around I experimented with cooking the crusts longer (browning them more) and freezing extra crusts. Both experiments worked well and I encountered no complications. So now, on to the recipe!


Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Makes 2(8-inch) crusts

1/2 head  Cauliflower
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp  Parmesan Cheese, shredded
1 clove  Garlic, crushed 
1/4 tsp  Sea Salt
1/2 Tbsp  Fresh Basil, chopped
1  Egg
2 Tbsp  Coconut Flour
1 Tbsp  Olive Oil (for brushing the tops)
1/2 tsp  Garlic Salt (for sprinkling on top)
* Any Desired Toppings

1)  Preheat oven to 450^F.
2)  Shred Cauliflower with cheese grater.
3)  Place in a steamer over an inch or two of water. Steam until just tender, but not fully cooked. (Do NOT let the cauliflower touch the water, it will make it soggy)
4)  Combine the cauliflower, cheese, garlic, salt, basil, egg, and flour in a bowl.
5)  Form 2 8-inch circles on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  
6)  Brush with oil and sprinkle with salt.
7)  Bake for 15-20 mins (until brown)
8)  Let crust cool a little, then add toppings and broil for 5-6 mins. until cheese is melted.

Original Recipe Link: http://www.againstallgrain.com/2012/03/07/meat-lovers-pizza-with-cauliflower-crust/ 

A Funny Little Thought

10-10-12

My husband showed this to me today and I had to share, too funny to keep to myself!
 


On the first day, God created the dog and said, "Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years."

The dog said, "That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?"

So God agreed.....

On the second day, God created the monkey and said, "Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span."

The monkey said, "Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the dog did?"

And God agreed......

On the third day, God created the cow and said, "You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years."

The cow said, "That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?"

And God agreed again......

On the fourth day, God created humans and said, "Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years."

But the human said, "Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?"

"Okay," said God. "You asked for it."

So that is why for our first twenty years, we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years, we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years, we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years, we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.

Life has now been explained to you.

There is no need to thank me for this valuable information. I'm doing it as a public service.

IAP Link 

Apple Cake Mistake

10-4-12

  I'm back and ready to give an account of my first "conversion" recipe. I made a Plum Cake for my client the other day and wanted to see if I might be able to alter the recipe to comply with my diet. The original recipe had said that you could use other fruits in place of plums. I only had apples on hand, so I made apple cake. :-)
  The results of my cake were not what I expected. The cake ended up rather bland, but the sliced apples on top are what made it delicious. After discussing what I found in my alterations with a few people, I decided that I'll need to make another cake to work out the kinks. The next time I make it, I'm planning to add some vanilla extract. Until then I'll post below with the Original and Converted cake recipes. 
  On another note, when I arrived home from work today my husband and his two younger brothers were making another batch of Sorbet, this time it is Peach flavored. They used the same recipe as before, with the strawberries, only they substituted the strawberries with five large peaches. The taste is very delicious once again, however, we found that the textures are altogether different. The peach sorbet is light tasting and fluffy in texture, while the strawberry sorbet was bold and a definite sorbet texture. I'm very proud of the guys and their talents at making delectable frozen desserts. 

God Bless!
Kittydid

Apple Cake (SCD)
  1       Egg
  1   tsp Lemon Juice
  2  Tbsp Butter, melted
 1/4  cup Honey
1-1/2 cup Almond Flour
 1/8  tsp Cinnamon
 1/8  tsp Baking Soda
 1/8  tsp Salt
  2 small Apples, peeled & sliced
 1/4  cup Cinnamon-Honey mix 

1)  Beat egg until lemon-colored.
2)  Add lemon, butter, and honey; mix well.
3)  Sift dry ingredients together and add to egg mixture.
4)  Press batter into greased 8"x8" pan. (If batter is too stiff, add a bit of water--but it works w/o adding any.)
5)  Arrange fruit on batter and drizzle evenly with Cinna-Hony mix.
6)  Bake for 40 min. at 350F.

*note: next time I'm going to add 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract. Will write update when I do, with how it turns out.

Original Plum Cake Recipe
 1       Egg
1/2 tsp  Lemon Extract
 2 Tbsp  Butter, melted
1/8 tsp  Cinnamon
3/4 cup  Flour
2/3 cup  Sugar
1/2 tsp  Baking Powder
1/8 tsp  Salt
Fresh-or-Frozen Italian Prune/Plum halves
1/4 cup  Cinnamon-Sugar mix

1)  Beat egg until lemon-colored.
2)  Add lemon extract and butter, mix well.
3)  Sift dry ingredients together and add to egg mixture.
4)  Press batter into greased 8"x8" pan. (If batter is too stiff, add a bit of milk--bit it works w/o adding any.)
5)  Arrange fruit, cut-side up, on batter. Sprinkle with Cinna-Sugar mix.
6)  Bake for 40 min. at 350F.

The Men's Test Kitchen

10-2-12

  Last night the guys (my husband and his younger brothers) decided that they wanted to make some homemade ice cream. So I spent much of the night searching for a recipe they could make with the food on hand and something I could also enjoy eating with them. This search led me to this Pinterest page. I found many delicious recipes, but settled on a Strawberry Sorbet (recipe at bottom of post).

  I'm super proud of the guys for learning to use the Ice Cream Machine for the first time and making the Sorbet all on their own. It is very yummy and something we will definitely be making again.

  My first "conversion" recipe is currently in the oven, so I'll be posting again when it is done and we have tasted it (later tonight or tomorrow).

God Bless!

Kittydid

Strawberry Sorbet

2-3 lbs  Strawberries (I used frozen strawberries)

1    cup Water

1    cup Honey

1/4 cup Lemon Juice

1)  Combine the honey and water in a saucepan and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes to create a sweet syrup. Cool the syrup.

2)  Place the cleaned strawberries in a blender or food processor, and blend until the strawberries are pureed. (I added the other ingredients also to puree the strawberries easier)

3)  Combine the pureed strawberries, lemon juice, and the syrup, and blend well.

4)  Cool in the refrigerator for an hour.

5)  Add the mixture to an ice cream maker to make the sorbet.

6)  It will be somewhat soft, but completely delicious, or you can place it in the freezer for storage.

Original Recipe Link: http://comfybelly.com/2009/05/all-natural-strawberry-sorbet/#.UGtf9cXAETB

Fall: Arriving in Style

10-1-12

  Today I welcomed fall with a wonderfully delicious Cinnamon Bun Muffin recipe. It made the house smell much like fall and the only thing missing was warm apple cider on the stove top. Sadly, the recipe makes only nine muffins, so I'll be making another batch before the evening is done. I've posted my version of the recipe at the bottom of this post. At the bottom of the recipe is a link to the original recipe from Elana's Pantry (http://www.elanaspantry.com/cinnamon-bun-muffins/). I find many of my recipes on her site and a couple of others (this will be very apparent as my posting progresses).

  I had my three month check up with my doctor today. It was probably the best doctor appointment I've ever had! She was very happy with the progress I've made on the diet (as am I) and how good I'm feeling. She was surprised to see how much weight I've lost, but is happy to see how well my body/gut is liking the diet. I went away feeling very confident about how well I'm doing and excited to continue on this journey to healing. 

  Another really neat thing, my father and eldest brother came up with a brine made of honey, salt, and water for smoking fish. I came home from a visit with some very delicious smoked tuna! yummy, yum, yum! I'm so very thankful for all the family and friends that are constantly supporting me in my dietary restrictions and finding ways to fix special things for me that I can have! 

  Happy Harvesting!

God Bless,

Kittydid

Cinnamon Bun Muffin
makes 9 muffins

Cinnamon Topping:
2 Tbsp Honey
1 Tbsp Cinnamon
1 Tbsp Grapeseed Oil

1)  To make cinnamon topping, combine honey, cinnamon and oil in a small bowl
2)  Set mixture aside



Muffin Mixture: 

1  cup  Blanched Almond Flour 

2  Tbsp Coconut Flour

1/2 tsp Baking soda

1/4 tsp Salt 

1/4 cup Grapeseed Oil 

1/4 cup Honey
3       Eggs

1  Tbsp Vanilla Extract

1)  Combine almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl
2)  In a large bowl blend together oil, honey, eggs and vanilla
3)  Blend dry ingredients into wet and scoop a scant 1/4 cup at a time into lined muffin cups
4)  Spoon topping onto muffins
5)  Bake muffins for 8-12 minutes at 350°. Cool on wire wracks.

Original Recipe Link: http://www.elanaspantry.com/cinnamon-bun-muffins/

Spring Cleaning in Fall?

9-28-12

Hey Everyone!

  So sorry it has been so very long, I'll try not to make it a habit ;-) .  Life has been super busy as a newlywed. I'm working with Visiting Angels PDX as a Caregiver. My husband is finishing up school and job-hunting. I'm enrolled at PCC as a student and hope to start some PreReqs next term so that I can start their Medical Assisting Certificate program the following term. So far, it looks like I'll only need to take 3 classes before applying for the MAC program. I've applied for Financial Aid and it looks like I'll probably have most of it covered via a grant (Praise The Lord!). 

  After my wedding in March I was diagnosed with Small Intestine Bacteria Over-growth(SIBO). It is basically good bacteria over-growing into my small intestines because the natural nightly GI "flushing" stops working, leaving the good bacteria to over-grow it's purpose, therefore infecting my small intestine. The results and symptoms are very much like Crohn's Disease. My doctor and I believe that, since I tested positive for SIBO and the images taken a few years ago indicated Crohn's, my health stands at one of three doors: 1)I have Crohn's and SIBO(so once the SIBO is gone, I'll still have Crohn's)   2)I have Crohn's caused by SIBO(so the Crohn's would go away with the SIBO) -or-   3) I only have SIBO, which made it look like I had Crohn's(so once the SIBO is gone I'd be healthy and "normal" again w/o any symptoms of Crohn's or SIBO).  

  This may seem odd, overwhelming, or both but, for me it is welcome news. The big difference between SIBO and Crohn's is that, SIBO has a known cure, where Crohn's does not. At present I am taking the slow route to cure the SIBO, which entails a very restrictive, grain-free diet called SCD(Specific Carbohydrate Diet). This particular diet starves the bacteria over-growth in my intestines. I'll be on this diet for exactly one year past my last symptom. I still have occasional symptoms so I haven't been able to start the countdown, as of yet. At some point during this diet I will have to take a prescription that will give that GI "flushing" a kick in the pants to start doing it's job again. I have my three month check-up with my doc on Oct 1st, so we'll see how she thinks it's going then.

  Since starting this diet three months ago, I've learned a lot about cooking without certain things and what manufacturers seem to thing is necessary to put in so many different foods! I've decided recently that I want to keep everyone, on here and in my family, in the loop and give them easy access to things I can eat and simple recipes that I prepare. My goal in revamping this blog for that purpose is to make it easy for people to help me maintain this diet and to help educate those around me on it at the same time as I am learning.

  I hope this hasn't been too much of a bore, but I wanted to get everyone on the same page! Happy cooking and I'll be posting my first recipe soon!

God Bless,

Kittydid

Engaged!!!

9-28-11

  I'm engaged!!! It happened on August 18th and I'm soo excited to be marrying my best friend! I've started a website if you want to check out our story :-D

http://markandkatelynn.ourwedding.com/